Richard Reed, 63, of Lower Burrell was arrested Monday and is being held without bail in a case involving allegations of sexual abuse of a toddler and distribution of child sexual abuse material, according to the Westmoreland County District Attorney's Office. The charges are allegations, and Reed is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Charges in the case
The district attorney's office said Reed faces charges including rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, statutory sexual assault, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault of a person younger than 13, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors, child pornography and criminal use of a communication facility. Nicole Ziccarelli is the Westmoreland County district attorney.
Police account of the investigation
The district attorney's office said the investigation began when the FBI Child Exploitation Unit referred material to Lower Burrell police after a video depicting an adult man abusing a toddler was circulated on the dark web, according to an account also reported by CBS Pittsburgh. Investigators said the man in the video had a tattoo on his inner forearm. Police used an open-source image repository to find images resembling the people shown and identified Reed, according to the district attorney's account.
Child-abuse context
Pennsylvania recorded 41,070 reports of suspected child abuse in 2024, compared with 40,301 in 2023, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. The FBI's Violent Crimes Against Children program is intended to counter threats of abuse and exploitation against children and to identify, locate and recover child victims.
Search and alleged statements
Lower Burrell police obtained and executed a search warrant at Reed's residence on Reed Street, the district attorney's office said. Reed answered the door, and detectives observed a forearm tattoo they said matched the one in the video before taking him into custody. During questioning, Reed allegedly told investigators that he was experiencing impotence issues and had used websites to communicate with people or view images of underage girls, according to the same account.
